HONG KONG — One of the most important, painful, politically controversial but essential tasks for the new Indian government of Manmohan Singh is to get relations with its neighbor and rival Pakistan onto a smoother footing for the sake of both countries, as well as for the peace and stability of the region and the world.
Now is an excellent time for more realistic relations between India and Pakistan, given that Singh's government in New Delhi has just won a fresh and clear mandate, and the government in Islamabad has belatedly realized that Pakistan has no future — quite literally — in pandering to extremists masquerading as the true believers of Islam.
But Kashmir stands in the way. The landlocked mountainous region has already been the bloody battlefield three times as the two countries staked their bitter claims to the region. Even today, Kashmir is the main excuse for India and Pakistan to waste billions of dollars on arms and to play dangerous nuclear games. It has seen both countries sucked into great power conflicts and is a source of tension with 50,000 people killed over the past few decades.